G. True Nelson: Former Deputy Sheriff, Military Officer, FBI Special Agent, and Security Consultant / Private Investigator. He currently resides in the Portland, Oregon Metro area. He is a writer on crime and judicial process; as well as discussing his personal observations on American culture and social mores.

RETURN

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

I think that, of all the images related to the Boston bombing, the image
depicted to the right was the most heartrending one that I’ve seen thus
far. What are some of us becoming? What sort of person is able to plan and
carry-out a random attack, indiscriminately focused, causing death and grievous
injury to the most innocent among us?
What political cause, what religious affiliation, what social and / or
perceived wrong, what twisted purpose can justify this?

Saturday, April 13, 2013

I’m not excusing John Connolly in any way, but I must say
that his actions do not necessarily surprise me. Connolly was raised in the same neighborhood with
Whitey Bulger. He harbored a certain
idealized image of Whitey, the older, tough kid in the neighborhood. And, as adults, Connolly, the FBI Agent, was
allowed / focused / directed by the FBI to use his past associations and
upbringing to cultivate Whitey as an informant against the Mafia. Commonsense supervisory practices would seem
to demand that Connolly’s actions would be very closely monitored. But they were not. In fact, the Bureau largely gave Connolly a
freehand. Furthermore, his supervisor,
Special Agent John Morris was taken-in by the gangster’s charisma, and accepted
substantial gifts, including money.
Morris was later to turn 'state's evidence' for immunity – his career and
his personal life in shambles. However,
there were others in the Bureau – right up the chain – who skated free.

According to evidence presented in court, Connolly took
advantage of his official FBI access to furnish Whitey with the names of other
informants and potential witnesses; that, not surprisingly, were quickly
terminated by Whitey et al. For this
service, Whitey paid Connolly generously for the information. No quid pro quo, according to Connolly – ‘just
gifts to a pal – perhaps, not a good idea, but certainly not criminal.’ The jury felt otherwise.

The question remains:
Who exactly was the informant?
Maybe both, maybe neither, just two criminals, business as usual. Connolly will probably spend the remainder of
his life in prison – a convicted accomplice to several murders. I suppose he might say, ‘I didn’t know.’ Nonetheless, it was his job to know. More likely, he might opine that ‘the end
justifies the means.’ My response would
be you’re either a good guy, or your not.
Connolly appears to have never asked himself that question, getting an adrenaline
rush and numerous benefits (wine, women and song) while he walked the line
between good and bad.

As we might say, it’s complicated. And, resultingly, we might ask, ‘Was Connolly
thrown to the wolves by the Bureau in much the same way he threw others to the
wolves in Whitey’s pack?’ And, did the
Bureau’s means justify that end?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

John Connolly, the disgraced FBI Agent, now serving a 40
year sentence in a Massachusetts State Penitentiary (for Second Degree Murder),
entered the Bureau a few years before I did.
I just finished reading the book, Whitey
Bulger, America’s
Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt That Brought Him to Justice,by Kevin
Cullen and Shelley Murphy. John Connolly
plays a significant role in the life and career of Whitey Bulger, including
facilitating murder.

This book was, for me, hard to put down. I recommend it. However, it is not very flattering of the FBI
– and that’s an understatement.

Connolly received many commendations from his superiors
during his 20 plus years in the Bureau.
However, after his retirement his career and his life began to
unravel. Raised in the same Boston neighborhood as
the notorious gangster Whitey Bulger, Special Agent Connolly later developed
Bulger as a criminal informant for the Bureau.
At least that is the way he might describe it. Actually, Connolly and Bulger became, in many
respects, co-conspirators involving extortion, bribery and murder – an evil
alliance belatedly uncovered after Connolly left federal employment. Furthermore, there were other Agents including supervisory personnel involved to one degree or another in facilitating
or covering-up crimes by Whitey et al.
It was a sad and disgraceful period for the FBI.

Besides recommending the book, I have a few comments to make
based on my experience as a Special Agent during the approximate referenced time
frame.

Some
of the best people I have ever met were Special Agents – including war
heroes, celebrated athletes, scholars, just quality people. However, some of the biggest
knuckleheads I’ve ever met were also Special Agents. I suppose the same could be said of
almost any large organization, but there was something a little different
about the FBI – and the type of people it attracted.

I came
in under Hoover
(he died about six months after I entered on duty). At the time, the rules governing
appropriate conduct of a Special Agent were voluminous and often idiotic –
some were downright bizarre. I had
been a deputy sheriff and a military officer prior to that, and I couldn’t
believe much of the Bureau’s requirements.
I’d never experienced any place of employment that was so
ludicrously restrictive.

That
said, I don’t recall any early training that incorporated ethical conduct,
personal integrity, and honesty. I
suppose those qualities in an Agent were just expected. However, what evolved was a conspiracy
of silence, in recognition of some of the absurdity inherent in the job. You quickly learned this lesson upon
reporting to your first assignment.
So, everyone, and I mean everyone, bent the rules a little just to
survive. Some Agents, the vast
majority, knew there was a limit beyond which you could not venture; their
personal integrity would not allow it.
Some Agents, a few, felt they could play the system, even break the
law with impunity. I should point
out that this personal condition or failing is not within the sole purview
of the FBI. It is evident, to some
degree, in almost every law enforcement agency. There is a certain heady, for some
intoxicating, feeling of power or superiority associated with law
enforcement work. Some, many, do
not have the maturity or the personal foundation to cope with the nature
of the work demanded and the opportunities it sometimes presents.

Three Laws for Effective Gun Control

Here are three potential laws that I would recommend for effective gun control:

1) Convicted felon in possession of a gun: automatic three years in prison - no judicial discretion - no chance for parole.

2) Knowingly selling or furnishing a gun to a convicted felon: automatic three years in prison - no judicial discretion - no chance for parole.

3) Theft of a gun, during the commission of a felony: automatic three years in prison - no judicial discretion - no chance for parole - sentence in addition to any time associated with the attendant felony.